One Moment
by Merpenstein
Summary: Penelope is an ordinary girl who quickly realizes that one moment can change your entire life.


Penelope Kaser was twenty-five and working as a waitress. She hated her job, which made her hate her own existence. The only thing that kept her going, besides her younger sister, was music. She almost prided herself on listening to and becoming a fan of underground bands that no one has ever heard of yet. On her way to work, she was listening to her favorite band-that-no one-has-heard-of. The only way to get prepared for her mind-numbingly mundane job was to listen to angry music.

"Pen, you have a table of six waiting on you!" "Okay, I'm on it!" _Christ, I can't even have two minutes for a smoke break today apparently._ Walking over, she gets out her order pad, knowing they've had plenty of time to look over the menu. "Hi, I'm Penelope, what can I ge—" She stopped mid-word, realizing who was sitting at the table in front of her. "Uhmm, sorry, I just…I listened to you guys on my way here today," she laughs, hoping she doesn't seem crazy to them. _I'm not another crazy fan, I swear._ "Oh, right on! We love meeting fans!" the singer said with a big smile on his face. "Well, anyway, what'll you guys be having today?"

Penelope had been so busy with other tables, she had almost forgotten they were in the restaurant. She went over, hoping they hadn't left yet. "Hey, guys, sorry I haven't checked up on you. We are extremely busy today for some reason. Surely Satan's doing," she laughed. "Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for stopping in and wish you good luck with your music." "Actually, Penelope, we were waiting for you. We wanted to ask you something. The reason we are in Chicago is we are shooting a music video…like, a real one, with a real budget," he laughs knowing she will understand, having surely seen their videos shot in their backyard. "Anyway, we were talking about ideas for the video…" _Oh my god, are they going to ask me to choose? How awesome!_ "and we have finally decided on one. …why do you look so disappointed?" Not realizing her expression had changed, she had to tell the truth at the risk of sounding silly, "Oh, I just thought maybe you were going to ask me to choose from the ideas you guys had come up with. Now I'm not sure how this will have to do with me." "Well, we were going to ask if you would like to be in it, actually," he said with a smile. "What? Are you serious? Of course I would!" "Great! Here, be at this address next Monday around noon," he said as he scribbled something on his unused napkin. "I'll be there! Have a great day, you guys," she was so ecstatic, she practically ran to the break room to call her sister. _Ugh, voicemail, really Jess? Wait, it is only one, she is still in school. _"Jess, hey, it's me, look ,come to my apartment tonight around seven if you can…I have some crazy awesome news!"

Finally home, she took a shower and changed. She sat on the couch contemplating what had happened that day. Wanting to call her mom and tell her, she grabbed her phone. Before pressing 'send,' she thought about it a little more. _Jess will be here soon and she could just pass it on to mom. Last time we talked, she wasn't well and I don't want a repeat of that._

There was a knock on her door. _It's about time, Jess. _Opening the door, she can see the expectant and slightly confused look on her sister's face. "What's up, Pen?" "You know who my favorite band is, right?" "Yeah, probably everyone on the planet does, as much as you spout about their talent." "I'm going to ignore that for now. They were at the restaurant today and I waited on them…" "Ooooh, we should go call the news station!" "Would you shut up?" "I'm sorry, you know I'm only kidding. So what happened?" "They asked me to be in their first real music video!" "Seriously? That's great! I'm so excited for you! When is it?" "We start shooting on Monday," she could barely contain her excitement.

Monday came sooner than she anticipated and she grew nervous driving to the address written on the napkin. Her nerves skyrocketed when she pulled into an empty lot surrounding a rundown, creepy-looking warehouse. _Great, I'm going to die today._ Slowly, she got out of her car and began the walk across the gravel lot to the door. _If I'm dying today, I'm having a cigarette first,_ she thought as she lit a cigarette. "Filthy habit," she heard the voice from her left. "Yeah, well, we're all going to die someday." _Wow, who gets the pepsi logo tattooed on their arm?_ The man chuckled at her as he walked in the door. _Who the fuck is that guy?_

Walking in, she quickly found KC, the singer, to let him know she had made it. "Ah, Penelope, so glad you're here! Would you like to meet your 'co-star'?" "Yeah, of course!" "Well, this is Phil," he said as he gestured toward a man with a certain soft drink logo tattooed on his shoulder. "Ah man, not the anti-smoking guy, c'mon," she whined. KC just looked at her for a second and that's all it took for her to realize how she had sounded. She looked apologetically at Phil, "Sorry, it's nice to officially meet you and I hope you don't think I'm weird or rude and yeahokaybye," she scurried away before she could make a bigger fool of herself.

Everyone had finally gathered to discuss the direction the video would take. "We're going to be slightly cliche with this one actually, but it fits the song very well," the director began. "Penelope and Phil, you are a couple that is trying to hold your relationship together. At this point, all you two do is fight, even about the most meaningless things. In the end, you'll make up and yay, happily ever after." _So just like every movie ever? I think I can manage to not fuck this one up._

"Alright, we're going to start with the 'fight' scenes for today, tomorrow will be the day we shoot the filler stuff, and Wednesday will be the band's day." "Wait, so this will only be two days for Phil and I?" Penelope was going she had the chance to be away from work, and life in general, for much longer than two days. "Well, we'll see how things go; we may need you two for more than we anticipate."  
The first scene was one in which Penelope and Phil were to fight which would turn into making up.

_No way I'm wearing that,_ she thought as she looked at the outfit they had laid out for her to change into. A tight, black tank top and a very short, white skirt. "That won't even cover my ass," she told the wardrobe assistant. "Yeah, but who would ever want to cover up an ass like yours?" She winked before leaving Penelope to change. _Well then._  
She was extremely self-conscious as she slid out of the dressing room to go back to the main room. She had stopped for a second to adjust the ungodly short skirt when she felt eyes on her. "See, you look fantastic," the wardrobe assistant said as she walked past her, pinching her ass on the way. "Umm, thanks, heh.." _If she keeps doing things like that... _She let her mind wander for a minute. "Pen! You ready?" She jumped at KC's voice. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Just distracted by how ridiculously short this skirt is." "You look great, come on!"  
She walked in and saw Phil waiting for her. _Damn, he cleans up well_, she felt herself blush as she looked at him. "Alright, I'm gonna have you guys start about here...you'll argue, push each other around, and then, phil, you'll push her onto the couch and get on top of her," the director's voice pulled her back to reality. "Sounds simple enough," Phil replied.  
The physical exchange they had solidified a theory Penelope had about herself: she very much liked physicality in a sexual sense. She thought about this for the short time she laid on the couch waiting for Phil to get back with the director. _Why did he only take Phil to talk to? Are the planning something? Oh, god._ Phil finally came back and resumed his position on top of her. "Are you ready?" He asked with a sideways smirk. _Stop being so damn attractive! _"I'm always ready ...wait, that sounds horrible, umm-" "I'll forget it ever happened," he laughed at her. "Ready when you guys are," the director interrupted. "Oh yeah, we're shooting a video," Phil laughed.  
The more they kissed, the more passionate the kisses became. Penelope could barely contain herself, his kisses were so perfect. They were a mix of roughness and passion that made her heart rate excel.  
"Whoa, guys! Hold up, we're not here to shoot a porno," the director yelled. Confused, she looked at Phil, who had that stupid, sexy smirk on his face again. It was then that she realized her hands were partway down the front of his pants. She quickly pulled them out, "Oh my god! How embarrassing! I'm sorry!" She shrunk into the couch and covered her face. _Jesus Christ, Penelope! _"Nothing to be embarrassed about, most women can't handle my sexiness," Phil quipped, trying to make her feel better about it. "Whatever," she replied as he leaned down closer. "To be perfectly honest, I had a hell of a time keeping my hands on this side of your skirt," he whispered.

"It was really nice of them to get us a room. I was expecting to just sleep on the floor of the warehouse," Penelope joked in the elevator on their way to their floor. "Well, that couch was pretty damn comfy." She could do nothing but blush as she thought back on the day's events. "Well, here we are," Phil said as they approached their room, "ready to see what kinda digs we got?" "More like ready to pass the hell out," she felt like doing nothing more for the rest of her life, she was so exhausted.

A laugh of irony escaped her lips as the door opened and they stood looking at one bed. "Well, I hope you don't thrash around in your sleep," Phil seemed fine with sleeping in the same bed. "I don't, luckily." Penelope didn't know how to feel about the situation. They were both sitting on the end of the bed when she decided to start some conversation. "So, Phil, tell me a little about yourself." "You really wanna know my life story?" "Well, I'd like to know more about you than you have a hatred for smoking and you have the Pepsi logo tattooed on your shoulder," she teased. He laughed, glanced down at his tattoo, and sighed. "I don't...I really don't feel like boring you." "I wanna know about you though, you won't bore me," she was completely sincere.

"Well, my childhood was pretty shitty. Neither of my parents were around; too busy with their mouths around bottles or their noses in dope. That's why I vowed, a very long time ago, to be completely substance free. I never wanted to be like them; I knew what I thought of them and I never wanted anyone to think that way about me. I basically lived in my best friend's parents' house. And then -" he smiled for the first time since he began, "and then I started wrestling. Some of my buddies and I built a makeshift ring in the backyard and we actually got a lot of people to come watch us. I never thought back then that I'd be able to actually make a career out of wrestling." "So you still wrestle?" He just looked at her. It was really hard for him to come by people - especially women - who don't recognize him. He chuckled and extended his right hand, "hi, I'm CM Punk, WWE superstar." She laughed, "I'm...I'm sorry, I've never watched wrestling before." "Please don't be sorry. I haven't been able to have a genuine conversation with anyone in five years." He sighed. She could tell he really meant that and she felt sorry for him.

"Anyway," he finally broke the silence, "it's your turn." "Ha, you don't want to hear about a nobody like me." "Oh yes, I do, come on." She sighed, "well let's see, my father bailed on us when she got pregnant with me, so it has just been us and my little sister, Jessica. My mom has schizophrenia, which can be really hard to deal with sometimes. My little sister is the only reason I'm still here, along with music. I'm not famous. I work as a waitress and I hate every second of it." She paused, debating telling him the next part. "Whatever you're thinking about saying, say it." She was surprised he read the apprehension on her face. "Many mornings, I'm sad I wake up. I've self-harmed since I was 12 and I'm fairly suicidal. I'm...really fucked up, actually," she let out a nervous laugh and looked up at him. He had a look of admiration in his eyes, "you're perfect." He leaned over and she was still in shock when their lips touched.

Everything in that moment was hazy. She could vaguely feel his lips on hers, she felt like she was in a parallel universe. One in which she felt a fleeting sense of happiness and contentedness. When the ringing phone broke the moment, she knew right then and there that she would be willing to do anything to feel that fleeting sense of happiness again. Phil reluctantly pulled away and looked at his phone, "they have the best timing," he joked as he answered the call. "Hey, you have the best timing, man. ...no, I told you, and them for that matter, that I would probably be gone for a couple of weeks. That doesn't mean I'm gone for however long creative feels I 'can' be. ...no, I have things to do and I'm part of other things that are also important to me. ...oh my god, yes, wrestling is the most important thing in my life; don't you dare threaten my career, asshole, you practically work for me. ...yeah, you tell them they can make up whatever stupid story if they must, but I won't be back for at least two weeks. Yeah, bye." He was shaking his head as he threw his phone on the bedside table and looked at her, "Sorry, people don't listen to me apparently." "It happens, but you can only tell someone something so many times before it's probably time you start telling other people." "You're right, I should just go straight to Creative myself." "Creative?" "The storyline writers. They come up with how we introduce and continue feuds and really any out of ring gimmicks." "Oh, I get it. So it should be interesting to see why you're MIA for two weeks." "I swear, if I 'have the flu' again, I'm going to be fucked if I ever ACTUALLY come down with any illnesses." They chuckled, somewhat awkwardly, neither of them knowing how to go about things after the kiss. Penelope decided to just let it go for now. She wasn't about to get crazy about some guy who made her feel the slightest bit of contentedness for the first time since she was nine. Shit. She let a yawn overcome her and took it as a sign, "Well, I'm extremely tired so I'm going to lay down. You're more than welcome to watch some TV or...whatever you do at night, I don't know." He laughed softly at her trying to be considerate, "I actually don't really sleep. I suffer from near-chronic insomnia. So I think I'll just move that lamp over there and read some comics I brought with me." "What a dork," she teased him as he moved the lamp that was on the bedside table to the table sitting in front of the window. "Hey, don't knock the comics, I will take you down, little girl." She squinted her eyes at him as she tried to give him a menacing face, but quickly gave up, laughing instead, "Okay, old man, goodnight." "Goodnight, Penelope."

She woke up and reflexively snuggled into the warmth next to her. She felt an arm sneak around her waist and pull her even closer. "Well, good morning," she could hear the smile in his voice and realized, while this may not be the most appropriate thing right now, she could wake up like this every day and be perfectly content. There's that word again: content. That single word hasn't crossed her mind in so many years, this was a foreign feeling for her. "Hi, sorry, I couldn't help but snuggle closer to the warnth in my sleepy state," she tried to sound convincing that she didn't know exactly what she was doing. "And who am I to deny you the warnth?" They both knew the other was smiling. "I'm going to just throw it out the window, okay?" she asked jokingly as his phone began to ring again. "I may as fucking well, really." he responded as he answered. She lay there, wondering what it must be like to be such a well-known person like him. What it would be like to be unable to walk around in your hometown without a hat or hoodie to cover yourself. She thought about what he said the night before - how he hadn't been able to have an actual conversation with anyone outside of wrestling in like five years. I would go insane, not being left alone, nope, no thanks. He ripped her from her thoughts with his yelling, "I ALREADY SAID I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY!" He abruptly hung up and threw the phone on the floor. "Wow, I don't even know about our creative department sometimes." "Are they having issues coming up with a story for your absence?" "I guess so. I mean, I guess someone suggested that maybe I met someone and I'm away with her for a while. Which I don't see a problem with, it's whatever. But Stephanie, the woman who has to approve everything doesn't like that angle." "Well...okay, one, why not? And two, why doesn't she just come up with something herself then if it's that big of a deal?" "Because the fans like my gimmick with AJ, one of the divas. So if I'm 'away with someone else,' that will all go to shit." "Ah, well, ya gotta keep the fans happy I guess." The shrill of the phone entered the room once again. "Nope, not answering," he said as he sat with his arms crossed; he would have looked like a little kid if he pouted a little. Penelope laughed at his composure, "Would you like me to?" "I wouldn't put you through having to talk to whoever is calling, no." They heard a knock on the door, "What, did they find me? Christ." He got up to answwer the door and Penelope got her first look at his nearly naked body. She wanted nothing more than to go through and trace every single one of the tattoos that cover his body. Maybe I'll get the chance someday. KC walked in behind Phil with a quizical look on his face. "You know, I didn't set out in life to be a match-maker, but I think it fits." Penelope laughed nervously as Phil just smirked, pulling on jeans. "Y'all ready for the day then?" Penelope was actually excited for today, "Today is the day we get to just walk around with a handheld camera right?" "Yep, should be fun for you guys. Meanwhile, the guys and I will be doing our shoot in the warehouse." "Wait, I thought you were doing that tomorrow?" "We were, but our time constraints got even worse so we basically have to finish everything today. It really sucks. We should have looked around more before just working with this guy. He doesn't seem to care nearly as much as he should."

KC left, leaving a handheld camera behind, trusting the two of them to "not make porn with it, please." "Well, I'm going to take a quick shower," Phil said as he walked over toward the bathroom. Penelope, admiring his tattoos once again, didn't notice him just looking at her. "Umm, yes, cool, okay?" "I'm sorry, what?" "Maybe you should get some more rest," he laughed a little. "No, I'm fine, I was just looking at your tattoos is all." "Maybe I can explain a few of them to you sometime, but right now we should probably get going." "Yeah, I suppose," she said as she fell back into a laying position on the bed. She smiled up at him as he walked over to her. "You're trying to get me to lay down again aren't you?" "No ...but if I was, would it be working?" He shook his head, smiled, and walked away to finally take that shower. After just talking about how Phil can't really go anywhere in Chicago without people recognizing him, they decided to go to a more discreet park, and then in the early morning they would go to navy pier. The park they ended up at was nice and deserted. There was just one old lady sitting on a bench by the creek, feeding some ducks. "Well, this was definitely a good choice," Penelope was in a weird mood. She wanted to just goof around and have fun, which was luckily exactly what they were supposed to be doing. After an afternoon of being weird together, they went back to their room. "Wanna watch some movies?" Phil asked her, hoping she wasn't too tired. "Yeah, what have you got? We could probably just stay up until the morning and then go to the pier. I'm not tired at all and I don't think you ever sleep," she laughed. "Well, all I brought with me are old, horror movies." "That sounds perfect, actually. Do you want some popcorn? Pretty sure I saw some in the vending machine down the hall." "Well, you can't have movies without popcorn now can you?" "Nope! I'll be back in a few." As she walked down to the vending machine, she was wondering how the night would go. There's no way he is single. He did kiss me though. It was just an in-the-moment thing. Had to have been. When she got back to their room, she threw the popcorn in the microwave and walked around the corner to get pajamas out of her bag. She noticed Phil was sitting in the middle of the bad in nothing but his boxers. "Well, make yourself comfy," she joked, inwardly freaking out. You don't just sit around in your underwear with someone you just met, what the fuck? "Oh, I already did," he gave her that damn smirk again. "Ha, ha," she fake laughed as she walked into the bathroom to change. As she was changing, she heard the microwave go off and Phil get up to retrieve it. Shit, should I wait to see where he sits or go sit down and awkwardly wait for him to do the same? She decided to just go sit on her side of the bed, and see what he decides to do. She got under the blanket, it being so cold in their room. "So, Night of the Living Dead or Psycho?" "I haven't seen either of them, so you can pick." "What, how have you not seen either of them? They're classics!" "I don't have a lot of free time?...I don't know, okay?" "That's alright, we can just watch both of them if we're going to be up all night." "Good point."


End file.
